A twist of Fate
by AvaEobane
Summary: To make up for his mistake, Gildarts travels back in time - to become the husband his wife needed, the father his daughter should have had and the mage his guild deserved. This has consequences beyond everything he had ever expected to happen. GildartsCornelia, Laxana and other pairings
1. Prologue

**A twist of Fate**

* * *

_Prologue_

* * *

The seemingly plain card was placed in the middle of the old table. The symbol on the card itself was the Wheel of Fate – the time changing card. The rarest card of all magical cards, the one that existed only once and after it had been used, it would always disappear and trade places with another card which made it the Joker among all the cards which were out there. Only a few Card Mages knew about this card and most of them prayed that they would never find it because even the most powerful card was pretty useless if you needed a Lightening Card.

For the last nineteen years, the card had been gone and no one had known who had been the last to receive it – but if someone had remembered, it would have been pointless because the previous owner had been dead for a long time.

"It took me quite a while to find it," Cana Alberona, Fairy Tail's resident Card Mage' said softly as she rested her fingertips on the edge of the table. "The Wheel of Fate … the most powerful of all magical cards … and the most unpredictable."

"How did you get it?" her father asked.

"I got my mother's old cards … and she possessed it," she replied. "Anyway, you really want to go back in time, father? Even with all the risks ahead of you?"

He nodded slowly. "I cannot live with my decision and my guilt any longer … and with the chance to make up for my previous mistakes … how could I keep going without taking this chance?"

"Very well," she said as she rested the bag with her own cards on an abandoned chair. "So, we should really go now before we get any second thoughts about this."

"Y-you will go with me? What about-"

"If it's really meant to be, it will happen again … and I have to go with you to perform the spell correctly so there isn't much of a choice for me anyway."

"You are choosing my happiness over your own?"

She shook her head. "It will be my happiness as well," she replied as she picked up the card.

"You aren't the one who has to redeem herself," Gildarts said calmly.

"I know," she said as she held up the card. "Here we go … _Wheel of Fate, turn time and allow us to make up for previous mistakes. Fortuna, decide on our destiny and allow us to go back to where we strayed from our rightful path!"_

A bright flash of light swallowed them and a lonely, nearly empty card fell onto the dusty floor, showing nothing but a single symbol: a mother.

A second later, the door opened and a blond man with a lightening shaped scar entered, looking around before he picked up the card on the floor and looking over his shoulder. "Hey, Cana!" he called out as he looked over his shoulder. "You lost one of your cards – again!"

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Fairy Tail.


	2. 1st Chapter

**1****st**** Chapter**

* * *

The colours around him were blurring and the light was too bright. For a moment, he saw thousands of pictures in front of him – nearly as if Mira had dumped the boxes with the pictures taken during Fairy Tail's many parties on him – before darkness reigned. He slipped in and out of consciousness until it finally stopped and he awoke in the middle of nowhere, lying in the mud as thunder growled dramatically above him.

He needed a moment to realise that he wasn't in the guild any longer and as he stood up, he realised that both his legs and both his arms were complete and healthy again – and that he was a good deal younger, that he was back in the time when he had just left Cornelia to take more dangerous jobs again.

He slowly rose and held his face into the rain before he cleaned his hands and looked around, trying to figure out where in Mavis' name he currently was but even without his usual lack of orientation and concentration, it would have been impossible to figure out. He sighed deeply before he opened his bag which had somehow ended up on his back again and searched for a map or something like that. A minute later, he found 'something like that' – the _Find Cornelia Card_ he had bought a long time ago – in both timelines – when they had been on their first job together and he had been scared to lose sight of her because she was so petite and short compared to him. He had bought the card to be sure that he would be able to find her again and so he dusted it off and sent a drop of magic into the paper to activate the card. The picture of his wife who had been sleeping on the card awoke and rubbed her eyes before she started to show him the directions.

He smiled as he walked straight through the thunderstorm.

As he walked, he tried to figure out what Cornelia's reaction might be and if it would be smarter to review his skills in dodging cards and other things she might throw at him.

_"Mother never blamed you for anything,"_ Cana had said. _"She was never mad at you … sometimes a little bit sad, true, but she … well, she understood, I think. She worked for her guild and she kept being an S-class mage. She smiled and she laughed all the time. I think that she was … content, maybe not happy but always content."_

After two hours in the rain, he finally reached the village where Cornelia had always lived. It wasn't far away from the guild building of Mermaid Heel which was closer to the coast. It was a peaceful village and he remembered that he had liked it there before because everyone was so kind and so understanding towards everything which was different.

He made his way to Cornelia's cosy home and knocked carefully against the door – she had never liked it when he had damaged her house and he had learned from previous mistakes.

Fast steps were to be heard before the wooden door was opened and Cornelia Alberona stepped into his sight. She looked just like he had remembered her. Her wavy brown hair was bound into a messy bun and she wore a tight red shirt with black shorts while she held a stack of cards. Surprise crossed her face for the fracture of a second before she smirked.

"Does the lady have a glass of water for a traveller?" he asked carefully.

"I also have beer and soup," she said as she stepped back. "Come in, Gildarts – but please, be silent. I just managed to get Cana to fall asleep … that's always a fight, you know?"

"C-Cana?" he asked, trying to keep his cover while excitement ran through his veins. For a moment, it became difficult to breathe because this meant that the spell had been successful.

"Our daughter, yes," she said as she mentioned towards the second door to the second door on the right side. "You should take a shower. I think that there are still a few of your clothes in the closet in the bedroom and if you want to see her, Cana sleeps in the living room. She was a little bit whiny today and I think she caught a cold somewhere … and in the living room, it's warm."

This was the way Cornelia had always dealt with every thing; direct and without any faked hesitation. She was pragmatic and a realist – and not a daydreamer like him. He smiled as she turned her back at him before he patted her shoulder. "I missed you," he confessed.

"I missed you too," she said as she turned around and kissed his cheek. "But now, clean up."

_"If I were to go back in time, I would lose my memory … at least partially. I would remember the outlines … whether I liked someone … or basic spells. I am not sure how much I would forget and how different I would be afterwards … but the most important memories of each year I lived will stay. I will remember Fantasia … the S-class exams … such things, you know?" _Cana had tried to explain when she had first mentioned the card. _"I guess that I would still end up in Fairy Tail … and that my personality wouldn't change all that much."_

He walked through the hallway to the living room with a towel around his hair and slowly approached the cradle where the little girl slept. He carefully raised his hand to stroke her soft cheek. "This time, it will be better, I promise," he whispered. "I won't allow you to think that you misplaced the faith you put in me, I swear it on my honour as a Fairy Tail mage."

"She's cute, isn't she?" Cornelia asked calmly as she crossed the room to stand next to him.

"She looks a lot like you so no, she's not cute. She is beautiful and she will be the most beautiful girl in the whole wide world one day – second to you, of course," he said with a smirk.

"You never stopped being a charming bastard," she said amused as she wrapped her arm around him and rested her head against his upper arm. "How's Fairy Tail doing? My Master got in an argument with yours last week … something about S-class jobs. She seems to think that you guys are hogging the really good ones … perhaps she's right. I haven't been paid decently in months."

"I have no idea … I haven't seen my nakama in months," he shrugged. "But you aren't short on money, are you, Cornelia?" he asked worried.

"I haven't earned much in a whole year, during my pregnancy and until I could leave her alone."

"So … you are in financial trouble?"

"Lately, yes," she admitted as she blushed in embarrassment. "It was okay at the beginning. I had earned lots of jewels in the last few years so I could manage even without having work. It's just … when I go on a mission, I need someone to take care of Cana and while this would be an unimportant fracture of the gain from an S-class job, it's quite a lot of money when I only get a normal job. Babysitters are terrible people – they are only out to ruin young women who depend on them because we actually care about our careers!"

"I would offer you money from my own jobs but you are too proud to accept it," he said slowly as he wondered how she had managed the last time, without him. "So I offer you another option how to get your financial situation back on track: I will babysit Cana and you get the best jobs your guild has to offer … if necessary, I write my master and tell him to hand a few decent jobs over to your guild. We will both gain from this: you get money without betraying your independence and you can get your career back on track."

"And what's your advantage from this, Gildarts?" she asked with a frown.

"I get to spend time with our adorable little girl," he said. "And maybe I will even get a break from my own jobs. I could really use a month off … and you are getting restless if you are at home for too long, Cornelia. You really should take this chance."

She looked at her feet. "It … it's just … how long are you going to stay?" she asked. "It has been more than one and a half year that you were here – or that I heard from you. If Cana gets used to you … if she gets used to having a dad … she is only a kid. I can deal with your personality of coming and going as you please. A child wouldn't understand. I am not questioning your motive for returning because it's not me to ask many questions … I merely want you to accept your responsibility in this situation. She is your child … _our_ child … and I am not sure if I could bear to watch her all heartbroken because her father abandons her."

He kissed her forehead. "I will stay," he said calmly. "Not only for her – but also for you … I grew up, okay? I am no longer the careless fool you married. I am a responsible adult and I promise you that I will take care of both you and Cana. I will be there. I won't make you sad at me. If anything, I will make you the happiest woman alive … because I love you, Cornelia Alberona, and I will fix all the mistakes I made when I left the last time."

She looked up at him. "You never broke a promise … and you never said something you didn't mean," she said slowly. "Very well, I will accept your offer, Gildarts."

"Thank you … thank you for allowing me to be a part of your and Cana's life again," he whispered. "And believe me: I will always be there for you."

"I never lost hope that you might return one day," she said and to him, it felt like a slap because the last time around, he had been too busy being a famous S-class mage to take care of her and Cana and everyone else he had used to care for back in the days.

* * *

Mermaid Heel's guild master, the former Miss Fiore, Serena Alen, was sipping her coffee in the guildhall as she watched how her mages, her daughters came to the guild to pick jobs or to have breakfast with their friends. She nearly chocked on her coffee, however, as Cornelia Alberona rushed in the guild and headed straight for the board with the S-class jobs.

"Oi, Conny!" she called out as she had stopped coughing. "I thought that you said that you wouldn't take S-class jobs or other overnight requests anymore until Cana can stay at home alone – something about the greedy babysitters, right?"

"Thankfully, I don't have to pay my husband for taking care of our daughter," the brunette replied as she chuckled. "He came back yesterday and ever since he put a foot into my house, he has been hugging either me or Cana the whole time. I think it's cute."

"It's good to hear that the useless guy is back again," Serena said as she patted her mage's shoulder. "But do me a favour and don't get pregnant again. It would be a shame to have to plan without you for a whole year again. You are such a good mage, we can't afford losing you."

"Dutifully noted," she said as she grabbed a request and waved it around. "Last S-class request we have, huh? It is alright that I take it, isn't it? I don't want trouble with my nakama."

"Cornelia, you are the one who has to take care of herself and a little kid – and a husband, now," the master said as her magical power radiated from her. "If one of them has a problem with you taking the last S-class request, they can discuss it with me."

"You are the best," Cornelia grinned as she headed for the door. "I try to be back for your birthday, Serena, and if you can spare the time … do me a favour and check on Gildarts and Cana. I am kinda scared that they might blow up my house if they are left unsupervised for too long."

"I will see what I can do to prevent as much," the blond master grinned as she raised her arm. "I like your new dress, by the way. The cut to show your guild stamp is so beautiful."

* * *

Gildarts blinked. Again. He sat on a blanket in the living room as he kept watching Cana as it he was scared that she might disappear right in front of him. "So, Cana-chan," he said as he pushed the rattle over to her. "You can play. I am not going anywhere. I am playing with you if you want to. And no, you can't play with your mommy's shiny, colourful cards," he added as he tired to take away the cards from her – only to have her crying. "Okay, okay, I am sorry, okay?" he quickly said as he pushed the cards back into her direction. "There, play with the cards as much as you want to. I am not stopping you, seriously."

The one-year-old girl smiled brightly at him as she held the cards in her chubby fingers. "C-cards!" she announced proudly. "P-pretty c-cards!"

"You spoke!" he said as he clapped proudly. "C'mon, Cana-chan, say 'daddy'."

"D-daddy?" she said as she tilted her head. "Daddy!"

"Oh, you are such a smart girl!" he said as he picked her up and twirled her around. "Let's go to town … I will buy you more of the shiny cards. And a pretty hair clip for your hair. Hah, your mother will be so happy when she comes home and finds out that you are so smart – just like her," he carefully put his daughter into her jacket before he made the way to the next little town where a fair was taking place.

"Shiny!" Cana declared as she looked around. "Shiny, daddy, shiny!"

"Yes," he said as he smiled at her. "It's shiny, Cana-chan."

He walked through the crowd and they had nearly reached their destination when a huge hand landed on Gildarts' shoulder and the short master of Fairy Tail who was carrying his grandson on his back appeared. "Master Makarov," he said as he nodded shortly.

"Gildarts," the short man said with a wide smirk. "And who is the little girl?"

"My daughter, Cana," the S-class mage said. "I am taking care of her while my wife is on a job."

"I wasn't aware of your marriage," the old man said as he raised his eyebrows. "That seems to be a very interesting … development. I was just about to get ice cream for Laxus … care to join us?"

"I don't have a choice, do I?" he asked.

"Exactly," the master replied with a smirk. "You have no choice."


	3. 2nd Chapter

**2nd Chapter**

* * *

The both Fairy Tail mages and the two children sat down around the table in the corner of the room while they waited for their ice cream to arrive. Laxus kept staring at the younger child and tugged on his grandfather's sleeve. "Gramps, why doesn't she speak?" he asked innocently.

"She speaks since today … but only a few words," Gildarts explained. "Say, Laxus, shouldn't you be on a vacation with your father at the moment?"

"Ivan ditched him – again," Makarov said darkly as he crossed his arms. "He is up to something and I would love to send you to figure out what he is doing. I somehow don't think that it will be something I will be happy to hear."

"I promised Cornelia that I would stay for at least a month to connect with our daughter and to make it possible for her to go on a few S-class jobs to stabilise her financial situation," he replied. "I would do it anytime – but not right now. I cannot break my promise. I am sorry."

"And there is no way you could combine this?" his master asked slowly.

"As long as you don't want me to get in serious trouble with my wife, I see no way."

"I could babysit Cana-chan while you investigate my son," Makarov suggested. "And I could try to contact your wife personally to explain our current situation. Maybe it will work."

"Daddy, daddy!" Cana said brightly as she mentioned towards the ice creams the waitress brought. "Look! Shiny, colourful!"

"She likes shiny and colourful things – like her mother's magical cards," the proud father explained while he placed the girl on his lap. "_Cards_ was actually her first word."

"So your wife is a Card Mage?" Makarov asked as he mentally went through the card mages he knew – which were only a few.

"Probably the best out there, yes," Gildarts said with another proud smile. "Cornelia is one of the three S-class mages of Mermaid Heel. You might have met her at the annual meeting of guild masters since her master usually simply sends her because she rather stays at home. She made bad experiences from earlier trips away from her guild and so she rather stays with them."

"I think I do really remember her," the old man said slowly as he looked back at the girl who was happily eating her ice cream. "Brown hair in a messy bun and blue eyes, correct? Yes, she was the representative for her guild the last few times … which reminds me that I need to say hi to Alen since I am in the area because she would kill me if I would forget to greet her."

"She is quite scary, I agree," the Crash Mage nodded. "But she cares a lot about her mages … and I think that this is what matters the most. As long as she is fiercely protective about her own people, she can afford being a little bit … bitchy towards other guilds."

"True, true," Makarov agreed as he leaned back. "You know that I hate to beg, Gildarts, but please … take care of this issue, will you? The guild – that means me – will treat this like an S-ranked job and we would take care of your daughter since you obviously can't take her with you…"

"Cornelia will have my head if I leave our daughter in the hands of our guild," Gildarts said as he paled. "She doesn't have a problem with Fairy Tail in general but we do specialise in property damage and she might fear that Cana will end up damaged…"

"Ah, c'mon – we never damaged Laxus," Makarov said as he tried to pout.

"Um, you do see the band aid around his head? This scream brawl in the guildhall…"

* * *

Cornelia Alberona was a powerful Card mage and she had not become an S-class mage for no reason. It was quite the opposite, really. She had become an S-class mage because there was hardly anyone inside her guild who could hold a candle to her. But for her fellow mages – and the two other S-class mages Mermaid Heel had – she was a good friend and therefore she took care of her nakama. Seeing that her guild was a women-only one, they had quite a few mages who had children and when Cornelia herself had been pregnant, she had babysat the children of her nakama. (She had considered it practice and since she believed in good preparation, it had seemed to be a great idea to her.)

As an S-class mage, Cornelia was used to long train rides and as she travelled to the town where her current job was set, she toyed around with her magical cards because she had to control herself as the adrenalin ran through her veins. It had been a while since she had been on an S-ranked job and she had missed the thrill. S-class meant danger. It meant to be one with the rawest kind of magic – and this was just what she had missed for so long.

"Miss Alberona?" her employer inquired. "That's you?"

"Correct," she replied with a sincere smile. "I heard that you have trouble with a bunch of criminals. I am here to change this."

No member of her guild would willingly admit this but they had all taken classes in being self-confident and showing this to the clients. As a women-only guild, they had often encountered sexism and so it was their goal to show their competence wherever they could.

"Are you sure?" the man asked. "You do know that they are very dangerous, yes?"

"Otherwise it wouldn't be an S-class job," she shrugged.

"You are pretty confident," he sighed.

"Mermaid Heel's S-class exam equals Fairy Tail's and outmatches Lamia Scale's and Blue Pegasus' likewise – that's why we have only a few S-class mages," she explained. "Anyway, where can I find them? I dislike wasting time."

"In the caves in the South," the man muttered.

"Great," she said cheerfully as she _skipped_ away. She had not chased any bandits in quite a while and so she considered this the perfect return into her life as an S-class mage. And she could not even remember the last time she had been outmatched by mere bandits. Usually, it took more than this to be dangerous for her but those people were only dangerous because of their number and according to the description of the mission, they could not even use magic.

* * *

"…Gildarts, it's either me or you," Makarov said calmly. "You are the only S-class mage."

The Crash Mage fell silent for a moment as he wondered how he was supposed to convince his guild master to let him off the hook. The last time around, Makarov had been the one to catch Ivan and therefore, in order to uphold the original timeline as far as possible, it would be smarter to let Makarov catch Ivan all over again. On the other hand, Ivan's excommunication had been part of the reason why Laxus had become antisocial and dangerous as a teenager. Gildarts knew this and he also knew that Cana would end up inevitably in the crossfire as soon as Laxus would make a move against his grandfather which would probably still happen … unless Gildarts himself would to something to prevent this. But this would require acting very much out of character and acting out of character might tip at least Cornelia off.

He was in a trap – only one day after going back in time – and he prayed for some help. He looked from Cana at Laxus before he looked back at Makarov. "In the end, we are both biased," he said calmly. "You are biased because he is your son and I will be biased because Ivan has been my rival since I joined the guild. He did swear eternal enmity after all. I am not sure whether I would be able to leave my personal emotions out of this to be honest. Therefore I advise to ask another guild for help in this case, make it an S-class job and ask Lamia Scale or another strong guild. If Ivan is really walking on dark paths, it doesn't only concern our guild."

"I would owe Serena-dono a favour and giving an S-ranked job to her guild might do the trick…"

"Mermaid Heel has three S-class mages … they would be able to do the job…" Gildarts agreed.

"But what would happen just in case that Ivan attacks and hurts them? I have known Serena Alen for a very long time and she would murder me for endangering her mages…" Makarov sighed. "No matter how much I agree with you, Gildarts, it has to be one of my own mages to investigate whatever Ivan is up to lately. All my fellow guild masters would never forgive me if my own son who also happens to be one of our S-class mages would attack their mages."

Gildarts silently apologised to both Cana and Cornelia because while he had tried to avoid this job, he knew that he would end up doing it anyway. From the last timeline he remembered quite well what Ivan had been up to and proving this would take only a few hours. It was still bitter because Laxus would never understand why his father would do such a thing and it would forever create a resentment between the boy and his grandfather – because Makarov would never find the right words to explain Ivan's wrongdoings.

"Very well," the Crash Mage sighed. "I can do this, Makarov, but there is one condition – if Ivan is truly up to something evil … when Laxus is old enough to understand, you have to explain him why you treated his father the way you will have to treat Ivan…"

"You are talking about a possible excommunication, I gather?"

"Yes," Gildarts nodded. "Because there will be no other way to treat Ivan, correct? Fairy Tail might be a guild of outlaws and people who tend to go to far … but we got rules … and even Ivan has to respect those rules. If he is guilty, you have to excommunicate him – instantly."

"You tell me to give him no third chance?" Makarov asked as he frowned.

"Yes – because the wasted two chances and never changed. Fairy Tail is about second chances, I know, but … if someone truly turned his back to the light and chose dark paths, we cannot allow him to poison the mind of our nakama."

"You grew up and lost a lot of your former idealism," the old man said with a shrug. "But you are right, Gildarts. While Fairy Tail is obligated to give those who lost the light from their sight a second chance to find the light once more, we have to show those who leave the light on their own accord that we cannot allow everything. Very well, Gildarts, I accept your condition. Please, investigate Ivan's strange behaviour as soon as possible. I would be more than happy to hear that I am wrong about my son … but I don't think so."

The both mages looked at the children who sat on the bench while Laxus showed Cana a few lightening tricks to the little girl's gleeful delight.

"It's to protect Laxus," Makarov said after a moment of silence. "I am his grandfather and it is my duty to keep the bad things away from him … he is such a good boy…"

"As a father, I can understand this opinion," Gildarts said calmly. "Cana might be very well a mage … and when she is old enough to decide, she might choose Fairy Tail. I want my guild to be a safe place when this day comes."

"That's an understandable choice, yes," Makarov said. "It's not like me to pressure someone but … I would like this issue to be solved as soon as possible – before Fantasia, at least."

"Knowing Ivan's recklessness, it wouldn't take more than a day or two," Gildarts stated. "But there is still the issue with Cornelia … I really don't want to make her mad at me for abandoning my duty as father on the first day to chase after Ivan. And Cornelia is someone who gets a little bit aggressive when she gets mad … and as a card mage, she is great at throwing things at me."

A shadow fell over the table as Serena Alen, blond and angelic but with the lethal aura of a mage who had seen more battles than anyone else her age, stepped over to them. "It has been a while, Makarov," she said softly as she patted Cana's head. "And hello, Gildarts. Cornelia mentioned that you are back before she left for her S-class job. Anyway, there seems to be something you are currently discussing, yes? Would you mind to share it with me?"

"Actually, it's a Fairy Tail issue but seeing that I try to get Gildarts to deal with it and seeing that he is currently taking care of the daughter of one of your mages, I can tell you as much: we need your advice," Makarov said cheerfully but he remembered just too well how powerful this mage could be when she was pushed too far. "Gildarts is currently refusing an order from me because it would interfere with his duty as father. What's your opinion on this?"

"Cornelia would kill him for letting Cana-chan down but she would also murder him if he were to let his nakama down. It's a tricky situation, that's for sure but … I believe that I have the solution. While I cannot expect you to leave this issue alone until Conny gets back from her job because as a mage of Fairy Tail, you never let anything drop – even if it would be only for a few days – I can expect you to have enough common sense to do a covert operation," the female master said as she toyed around with her scarf. "Back in the glorious days when I was with Lamia Scale, we often did covert operations by making it look like we were simply having a vacation. We took poor civilian guys with us and when we got caught, we made it look like we had stumbled _coincidentally_ over the place of crime."

"I believe that this was the reason why you had to leave Lamia Scale, right?" Makarov asked.

"I left on my own accord and I had the goal to create a women-only guild since female S-class mages and guild masters are ridiculously unrepresented," the blonde snapped. "Anyway, I gave you an advice there and whether you take it or not is your problem. Anyway, see you at the next meeting of guild masters, Makarov. It was nice chatting with you, Gildarts."


	4. 3rd Chapter

**3****rd**** Chapter**

* * *

Laxus had always admired Gildarts and therefore he was very enthusiastic when his grandfather told him that he would be staying with Gildarts for a few days. That was very strange on one hand since Fairy Tail's strongest mage seemed to be very busy with his own child but on the other hand, Laxus was not one to question his grandfather when he was fine with the old man's decisions. And the little girl was cute too. Cana, Laxus liked that name. It was pretty and therefore, he wondered if the girl would be pretty too if she would grow up a little bit.

Gildarts' house was awesome too with all the colourful magical cards scattered everywhere and Laxus liked to play with Cana. There were no other children in Fairy Tail and definitely no other child related to someone as great as Gildarts. And her relation to Gildarts made Cana already very awesome even though she could not even write her own name.

The only strange thing about the current situation was how so many strong mages from other guilds visited Gildarts' house all the time. Laxus recognised the master of Zephyrus Heart and his sister who also was his second-in-command because he had met the duo once at a party of his grandfather's strange friend Bob. He remembered Mermaid Heel's master Serena Alen just as easily as he recognised Lamia Scales' resident Takeover Mage who still went by her maiden name, Katharina Summers. And all of them gushed over Cana.

"That's amazing!" Katharina laughed as her green eyes twinkled. "She looks really just like Conny! She is so adorable if you ask me."

"Interesting choice of words for a Satan Soul Takeover mage," Gildarts said drily. "But yes, she will be just as beautiful as her mommy one day – I am sure of it!"

"She is really adorable," the calm voice of Zephyrus Heart's master declared as his sister nudged him. "I haven't seen such a cute little child in a very long time."

"Time for you to become a daddy, little brother," his sister teased as she took the little child from Katharina. "My, my, she got a lot of magical power. You will have lots of fun with that one, Clive."

"I am sure that I will be able to deal with it," the proud father shrugged. "And if anything fails, we got Porlyusica. I am sure that she would be able to find a way to deal with these problems."

"Gildarts?" Laxus tugged on his coat. "Can I hold Cana-chan too?"

"Of course," the Zephyrus Heart mage grinned as she bent down. "Just try not to drop her, yes?"

"Sister," her brother said warningly but Laxus did not understand why but then again, the little boy was very focused on the task not to drop the girl.

"Gildarts," Serena Alen said calmly as she grabbed her coat. "We need to return to our respective guilds. Philippe and I have to attend a meeting of guild master in a few days and before we leave, we have to organise a few things. Kat will most likely stay in the area for a few more days so before you blow up the kitchen, give her a call. Cornelia gave her a card as well, I guess."

The white-haired woman nodded as she waved around a card. "I will be around until the end of the week – afterwards I am on another leave," she said softly. "After Mirajane and Elfman, I am going to have another child – I personally hope for another girl."

"Congratulation," Serena smiled. "I guess that this is the reason why you came here, you wanted to tell Conny, didn't you?"

"Yes," she said before she turned to leave. "Anyway, the S-class job won't get itself done. I will stop by again tomorrow, Gildarts. Try not to blow up the house and make sure that Cana sleeps enough. I babysat her quite a few times and she loves to refuse her naps."

"I noted that," the father said before he nodded into the direction of the third woman. Zephyrus Heart's infamous S-class mage who towered behind her brother rolled her eyes before she moved forward to hug him. "I am not mad at you, Clive," she stated. "I only hope that you know what you are doing. C'mon, Phil, we are leaving. It was a pleasure to meet you, Laxus Dreyar."

She rushed out of the room, leaving behind nothing but cold air.

"I apologise for my sister's behaviour," the guild master said calmly as he sighed deeply. "Even I can hardly understand her these days. She is getting restless from being stuck at the guild for so long but after her last solo mission, I can hardly let her go on her own until she healed completely. She is unhappy and frustrated because it was the first job she failed – _ever_."

Gildarts' eyes widened slightly as he looked at the blond woman for confirmation and when she nodded, he sighed deeply. "In a world where she fails a job, everything is possible," he said as he stared out the window. "Master Serena, Master Philippe, please ensure the safety of the mages in the area controlled by Poseidon's Spear. This worries me. No ordinary mage would be capable of defeating her … can I ask which mission she took and what she said afterwards?"

"She took an S-class quest known as the Hundred-Year-Mission. I heard you are interested in this one as well," the female master said.

Laxus who watched the exchange without truly understanding anything remembered what his grandfather had told him about the both big guilds in this area. There was Mermaid Heel and there was Zephyrus Heart and together, they formed the alliance known as Poseidon's Spear because both guilds were too small to defend themselves against dark guilds properly.

"Gildarts – I know what you are thinking," the blond woman said before she looked around. "And I can tell this because you think just like Philippe over here. But neither of you can do anything right now. Let the Hundred-Year-mission alone for a few more years. And the current point, no one in any guild here in Fiore would be capable of completing it. I will inform Makarov about the ongoing problems and I will highly advise him to forbid any of his mages from taking it. I have taken it from the request board the moment I heard from her failure."

"What did she say about the attacker?" Gildarts repeated a part of his original question calmly.

"She claimed that a huge black dragon attacked her," Philippe Tempest replied. "And I believe her – not only because she is my sister. I believe her because no human being and no regular monster – not even the King of Beasts – ever managed to injure her like this. She spent three weeks under the care of the best healers in both our guilds. Clive, we are aware that it is not our place to forbid you from accepting this mission but … don't do this. Cornelia knows about what happened and … don't do this to her, alright?"

For a moment, Gildarts was eerie silent and looked from the both masters to his daughter who had fallen asleep while Laxus held her. The little boy was still holding her and looked up to him with a strange mixture of worry and hope. "I understand," the Crash Mage said. "I won't take the mission anytime soon. Give her my regards, Master Philippe, and I would appreciate it, Master Serena, if you would not tell Cornelia that I originally considered accepting this mission. I do not wish to worry her when the danger does no longer exist."

"Of course not," the woman said before she took her bag and bowed her head. "I see you around, Gildarts Clive. Keep a close eye on Cana-chan, she is quite creative for someone this young. Oh, and I would prefer if you would not even mention to Cornelia that I mentioned the Hundred-Year-mission in your presence. She asked me not to tell you anything about it. She probably feared that my friend's fate would encourage you to seek out the danger."

A quick movement and she had left, leaving behind nothing more than the scent of the sea.

"There will be a time for you to take this quest," Philippe Tempest said as he patted Gildarts' shoulder. "But for now, it is your duty to protect your family and your guild, of course."

He left as well in a simply smooth movement and like his sister he left nothing but cold air in his wake. Laxus carefully stepped over to his idol and tugged on Gildarts' sleeve once more. "Why did no one call the hurt woman by her first name, Gildarts?" he asked.

"She has no real first name," the man replied, lifting both children onto his lap as he sat down. "It is a long and complicated story, known to only a few people. When she was a very small child, she was kidnapped by criminals who hid her in the forest. Her parents grieved her loss and passed away when Master Philippe was eighteen. Beforehand, they had burnt all the official documents about their daughter because they had lost hope that she might ever return. They believed her to be dead…" Gildarts shrugged helplessly. "Master Philippe became master of Zephyrus Heart after leaving Lamia Scale along with Master Serena who became master of Mermaid – and twenty-one years after her disappearance, Philippe's sister returned. She too first joined Lamia Scale under the name of Lexa because she needed a name and this was the first name that came into her mind and later on, she switched guilds and joined her brother's guild. She did not need a name there. She is _the Master's sister_ or the _second-in-command_. Seeing that she is mostly away anyway and seeing that she usually avoids human beings, it's okay."

"But her brother … can't he give her a name?" Laxus asked, fascinated with the story.

"He would – if she considered it necessary which she doesn't. She gives herself names when she needs them and changes them once she gets sick of hearing them all the time," the S-class mage shrugged. "So, I call her Tempest when I directly speak with her and feel like giving her a name, she calls me Clive – so we are even. We consider each other equals and that's alright."

* * *

Cornelia tapped against one of the cards that surrounded her and sent it at her current opponent. "I really don't get why you don't spare yourself the trouble and the pain and surrender," she sighed. "Listen, I am a member of Mermaid Heel and an S-class mage at that. So I would be very glad if you guys were slightly more cooperative and don't try to fight me. This will only lead to tons of wasted band aid … and I am not sure whether this has to be like this."

"How did you find us in first place?" her current opponent asked. "We hid so well!"

"Trying to hide from a card mage is as impossible as trying to lie to psychic," she replied as the card she had sent at him exploded. "This is tiresome and pointless. Since you refused my offer to end this peacefully, I will have to fight this all out from this point. _Ace of Cups, Two of Swords – Stabilised Water Prison_!"

She was the heir of a long line of Card Mages and therefore, her spells were divided in two large categories: traditional ones which she had been taught by her mother and her grandmother and those she had created herself. This gave her quite an advantage because even those who had fought strong Card Mages before had no idea what she could do because she united her traditional training with her own ideas, with her own, partially more powerful spells. The Stabilised Water Prison was the Card Magic version of the Water Mage's powerful Water Lock which was nearly impossible to break apart.

_"Three of Staves, Ace of Coins – Earth Shackles,"_ she went on, easily tying up the bandits she had not managed to catch in her enormous water bubble. _"Moon, Chariot, Tower – Mysterious Change."_

A bright flash of light brightened up the dark cave for the fracture of a second and afterwards, it was empty – neither the Card Mage nor the bandits were present any longer because this was the power of Mysterious Change – it changed the position of everyone in the between the three cards to a place where the caster wanted to be.

* * *

Gildarts realised that the current downpour was not natural because he had known Serena Alen for years since she was both his wife's guild master and his own guild master's friend and she was a Water Mage with a temper that could literally turn clear blue sky into the kind of grey sky that announced thunderstorms. This rain was different. He knew that it was caused by magic out of control but he also knew that this was a mage far younger than and not as experienced as Mermaid Heel's guild master. He looked at Laxus who was daydreaming on the couch while Cana was on the floor, hugging a bunch of magical cards close to herself. (He wondered where she had gotten them from this time because he and Laxus had spent the last hour on trying to hide all the cards from her.)

"Laxus," he said calmly as he grabbed his coat. "I need to go out for a second. Can you promise me that you will protect Cana as long as I am gone?"

"Sure, Gildarts," the boy nodded seriously. "I can even promise you that I will always protect Cana-chan … even when you are there. I think that she's cute after all."

"Thanks, champion," Gildarts said as he ruffled the boy's hair. "I promise that I will be back right after I checked something out. Um, you can play with Cana so long … and maybe make sure that she does not eat the cards. Conny might get mad if this happens."

The blond boy nodded before he took away one card from Cana and for once, the girl did not cry at the loss of her favourite toy. Gildarts could not help but grin as Cana even held out another bunch of cards to Laxus who started to build a card house. Well, at least they would not blow up the house from the looks of it.

The S-class mage rushed out of the house, trying to locate the source of the rain and following the looming feeling in his gut. It was strange. Usually, he would not have left Cana on her own even when a war had broken out in the middle of the peaceful village but this time, he felt a strange emotion of urgency. He had to seek out the source of the rain for one reason or another.

He hurried through the empty streets and as his hair became drenched, he finally reached the bridge and this bridge was not empty. There stood a man who carried a bundle of pink sheets, a bundle that obviously contained a small body – and he threw this body into the river before he ran away. Gildarts cursed as he dropped his coat and jumped right after the bundle which had _screamed_ and therefore indicated that it was _alive_. The water was freezing cold but there was a life on the stakes and what kind of Fairy Tail mage would allow a little child to be killed like that.

He hardly saw anything as he dove through the water and panic dwelled inside of him before he finally saw the flash of pink. He grabbed the bundle and made sure that he got the hell out of the freezing water. He grabbed his coat which was dripping wet by now and made sure that he got home as fast as possible – for the sake of himself and of the little one.

* * *

While Cornelia loved to travel to a job by train, she hated nothing more than to miss her train back. And because this had happened, she checked whether she had an audience or not and when she figured out that no one was watching, she quickly used the spell she considered the most useful for this kind of situation: _Moon, Chariot, Tower – Mysterious Change._ This was everything she needed to vanish at one point to reappear in her own bedroom.

She smirked as she dropped the heavy bag of jewels she had gotten for the completion of the S-class job along with her coat onto the bed and she was still amused as she headed for the kitchen where she intended to make herself a cup of tea. She froze, however, when she saw the unfamiliar pair of shows, bigger than Cana's yet smaller than her own, next to Gildarts' favourite pair of boots. She exhaled to keep herself calm but this failed when she heard the voice of an unknown child from the living room. She ran one hand through her hair before she straightened and stepped into her living room – only to witness a strangely adorable scene. Cana sat there as she handed outdated magical cards to a small boy, maybe five or six years her senior, who was currently building a card house. She relaxed as she heard her daughter's gleeful squealing but this did not explain where Gildarts was and why he was not present to keep an eye on Cana.

The boy turned his head into her direction and got up before he bowed. "You have to be Gildarts' wife," he said politely. "I am Laxus Dreyar. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"So, you're Makarov-san's grandson?" the woman asked as she bent down. "I'm Cornelia and I guess that you look a lot like your grandfather, Laxus-kun."

"Do you think that Cana-chan will be as pretty as you are when she is older?" the boy inquired.

She spluttered and could not help but giggle. "I have to give you some credit, Laxus-kun, you are more charming than your grandfather," she smiled. "And, well, I hope that Cana will be prettier than me one day … but could you tell me where Gildarts is hiding right now?"

"He went away and said that he would be back soon," Laxus said. "That was about four minutes ago. He told me to protect Cana-chan while he's gone."

"At least he thought of the important things," she muttered as she ruffled her daughter's hair, then she looked up and stared outside where the rain was slowly lessening. "Looks like Master Serena got mad at Master Philippe again…" she sighed. "Anyway, do you want hot chocolate, Laxus-kun? I just got home from a job and could use something warm."

"That would be very nice, Cornelia-san," he said. "I play with Cana until then, okay?"

"That's a great idea," she said and left the room to head for the kitchen. She made it to the hallway where Gildarts just opened the front door as his clothes and hair which were dripping wet left small puddles on the floor. "Where the hell have you been?!" she asked worried.

"Got to save a little child," he said, holding the pink bundle out of her. "She was alive by the time I got her out of the water. Please check on her while I get changed, please, Conny."

She sighed deeply, saying goodbye to her calm afternoon off and accepted the baby. "Get changed and make hot chocolate for me and Laxus – and get yourself warmed up, you are freezing cold," she said. "I am upstairs, tending to the girl."


	5. 4th Chapter

**4****th**** Chapter**

* * *

Cornelia had dealt with Gildarts and his antics for a very long time and therefore, she was not as surprised as she should have been as she carried the pink bundle into Cana's warm room where she kept her daughter's old clothes. The baby inside the bundle, maybe a few weeks old from the looks of it, had blue curly blue hair and the eyes that opened slightly as the small body warmed up were deep blue as well. The Card Mage barely managed to keep her rage under control and hints of her magical power surrounded her, illuminating the room in a dark shade of purple. She was a mother before everything else and the idea of trying to kill a vulnerable little child did not sit well with her. But for the sake of the little girl she forced herself to contain her rage – at least until the next S-class job. She picked out a set of pink baby clothes and as she threw the wet sheets onto the floor, she noticed the blue embroidery on the hem. Juvia, it read and according to the locket around the girl's neck, the full name of the little girl would be Juvia Lockser.

"Don't sleep yet, little Juvia-chan," the Card Mage cooed as she held the baby close to her chest. "I will bathe you first and then, you will get some warm milk. And yes, afterwards, you can sleep. I am sure that Cana won't mind to share her room with you, darling."

She hummed an old lullaby as she quickly made her way to the bathroom where she bathed the girl that seemed to love the feeling of the water surrounding her. At least, little Juvia did not act like Cornelia was trying to drown her which Cana had done all the time as a baby.

"What are you going to do now, Conny?" Gildarts asked as he rested his hands on her shoulders.

She sighed deeply. "I would love to keep her," she muttered. "Some tried to drown her, you said? Tsk, drowning a Water Mage is most likely as impossible as … as a Fairy Tail mage completing a job without property damage. And what kind of person would even try to kill such an innocent child?" she added and her carefully regained composure nearly fell apart.

"I have no answer for you," he admitted as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "Say, what's her name?" he inquired, trying to change the topic.

"Juvia," his wife said softly. "Juvia Lockser."

Gildarts felt as if someone had emptied a bucket of cold water over his head. This was impossible and yet, it was not. Cana had warned him that his time travel would most likely have influence on the original timeline and this made sense, lots of sense. He had returned with the mission to be a better person after all and to reach this goal, he had to interact with other people and especially with his family and his guild. The first major difference from the last time was that Zephyrus Heart's second-in-command had survived her run-in with the black dragon. He was not sure what exactly had happened the last time around but as far as he had been concerned, she had vanished and had never returned from this stupid mission. The second major difference was that he had saved Juvia, Juvia who would have been a Phantom Lord mage at one point and who would not be a mage of Fairy Tail's biggest rival now. He tried to figure out what had happened the last time … either, she had not been thrown into the river in first place, or someone else had saved her.

But then again, Cornelia had just said that Water Mages could not drown (which made actually sense to him because everything else would be really stupid) and so it might have been that Juvia had been found somewhere else, a long distance away from the peaceful village. He could trust his wife on her expertise with Water Mages because her guild master was a powerful Water Mage and Cornelia had spent quite a few years as assistant and adviser to Serena Alen.

"Lockser…" Gildarts muttered, trying to remember whether the Juvia of the future had ever said something about her past but everything he could remember was that she had grown up in an orphanage because she had been found as a baby and no one had been able to find her parents.

"Dynasty of powerful Water Mages," Cornelia supplied as she frowned as well. "I believe that Master Serena is distantly related to them but I am not sure about it."

"And would you consider it as realistic that this family would try to kill their offspring?"

She shook her head as she looked down at the baby. "No," she said confidently. "They are quite popular around here … and from what I know, they live in a castle somewhere in the forest – to make sure that the villages and towns are not bothered by the rain. Water Mages tend to be quite emotional and you have seen what happens when Master Serena gets mad. Try to imagine what would happen if ten or more Water Mages would be upset after an argument…"

"I will investigate the castle tomorrow," Gildarts sighed. "If we would find a babysitter for the kids, I would love to have you by my side … we are a pretty good team after all."

She nodded before she grabbed a towel to dry Juvia. "I guess that I can get Master Serena to babysit the kids," she shrugged. "She owes me a favour and I will never get to call it in otherwise."

"Thank you very much, Conny," he said before a frown reached his forehead as he realised how desperate she was fighting for composure. This had rarely happened before. Of course, she had always been hot-headed (which was part of the reason why he loved her so much that his heart could barely contain it), but she had rarely radiated killer intend before and only once before he had seen how her magic oozed out of her like fester from an especially deep and dangerous wound. And this one time had been when her old guild master had been murdered right in front of her and words could not even come close to express how much Cornelia Alberona had always relied on Aerona Mills. The older woman had offered her a place in Mermaid Heel after Cornelia's parents had died and when she had been killed, Cornelia had nearly lost it completely. She would have end up killing her mother figure's murderers if it had not been for Serena Alen who had stopped her then by casting Water Lock.

Ironically, this event had inspired the creation of the card magic spell _Stabilised Water Prison_ later on because Cornelia had wanted such an effective binding technique for herself because she had felt how powerless the victim of such spell was.

"Oi, calm down," he said as he hugged her tightly. "We will investigate what happened and everything will be fine again."

She was trembling in rage and he realised that this was the reason why she could still best the young mages in her guild, greedy and strong, with ease. They might be interested in her position inside the guild, the very same position she had had basically since the day she had joined Mermaid Heel – the position as the guild master's confident and right hand – but for one reason, they would never be able of taking it away from her: Cornelia was Fairy Tail material and when she fought, she fought with all her soul as long as there was something she wanted to keep.

For a moment, he considered trying to investigate the castle on his own because Cornelia was just as dangerous as she was strong when she was this angry. She was mad at whoever had tried to kill Juvia and at the same time, she was mad at everyone who had ever harmed a child before.

She was a mother after all and as a mother, she had to defend all the children in this world - starting with those close by and ending by those who were far away.

* * *

Serena Alen was the kind of woman who was easily roped into babysitting. She loved children and when very young mages joined her guild, they often stayed at the mansion where she had grown up – the mansion she no longer lived in herself because it was also the mansion where her older sister had been killed and therefore, the building carried many bad memories for her. She was also single and approaching her thirties quite fast which meant that the window in which she would be able to have children was closing. Therefore, she currently rather played the babysitter than to fight the council for more support for her guild. She had accepted that, compared to guilds like Lamia Scale and Fairy Tail, Mermaid Heel would forever be second best – and she tolerated this. What she could not tolerate, however, was that _Blue Pegasus_ got more money from the council than her guild because in her eyes Blue Pegasus was the most pointless of all guilds in Fiore. An all-women guild made sense because female mages needed a basis and a voice in a world that was partly dominated by men. Fairy Tail also made sense – the concept of second chances was an important one and while Mermaid Heel was yet to turn a woman down who wanted to join, they _only_ accepted women while Fairy Tail accepted both genders. Blue Pegasus' concept was, however, that beautiful and handsome mages had their own guild and no matter how charming Master Bob could be, Serena could not stand this. If she was completely honest with herself, the only guild she tolerated without any doubts was Zephyrus Heart and this was because Philippe had been her friend for ages and for this reason alone, she would already cooperate with his guild.

But back to the babysitting assignment – Serena acted like it annoyed her but inwardly, she already thought about all the stories she could tell the children as a bedtime one.

"My grandfather says that you are a scary woman," the blond boy revealed as he looked up to the renowned Water Mage. "I don't see why he would think so … you seem very nice, Serena-san."

"We once got into an argument and I let it slip to your grandmother," she replied as she used her magic to get her tea water to boil faster. "Seeing that she got pretty mad at him, it's safe to assume that he learned his lesson: it's really smarter not to cross me when I am already agitated."

He tilted his head and looked around. "Did your husband cross you? Is that why he isn't here too?" he asked in all innocence. "Serena-san, why is your face so red?"

"H-husband?" she asked as her blue eyes widened and she began to look truly ridiculous. "I don't have a husband! I don't need one either. I am absolutely fine without one."

"I think you are lying," he said as he scrutinised her. "Your face got all red when I asked you."

"Just to humour you, little one, who did you assume to be my husband?" she inquired.

"The master of Zephyrus Heart, of course," he declared. "He was looking at you just like Gildarts looks at Cornelia-san when he thinks that she's not noticing it so … so I assumed."

She smiled as she ruffled his hair. "You are a lot like your grandfather," she muttered. "He has been teasing me about the same thing since we've met … he should try something else one day."

* * *

"…and you are sure that this is the right way?" Gildarts asked. "I mean … you do have a tendency to get lost and to be too late when it comes to a battle…"

His wife blushed crimson. "That was one time, okay? One time that I got lost and arrived too late for the battle," she huffed. "And while I get lost quite often, I always find a way home."

"Yeah, because your guild master ordered you to invent a freaking transportation spell because you got lost too often," he grinned. "Anyway, it seems like we were here a few times before, Conny. Can't you cast some spell to make us find the way?"

"Unlike you, I got not endless reserves of magical power on my hands," she replied. "So the answer is no, I won't cast spells until I have an idea what's going on in the c-castle…"

"Why are you stuttering like that?" he asked worried as he looked around.

"The castle, it's right here!" she exclaimed as she mentioned towards the huge building which was basically right in front of them. For a moment, she wondered how Cana would fare later on because with a constantly daydreaming father and a mother who might manage to get lost in her own house, it would be hard to achieve something in life.

"We finally found it," he nodded. "After only a few hours of walking – I am quite surprised."

She glared at him before they quickly approached the lone castle. The closer they got, the more she felt like something was terribly, terribly wrong at the moment. It was too silent, not a single sound came from the huge building. Unconsciously, she grabbed Gildarts' left arm and held onto it. She was used to fear, having faced it again and again along the years but she was not used to this kind of fear. The blood in her veins felt colder than eyes and her heart beat too loud as well. She was not paralysed by it though and this was currently the best she could say about it.

"Are you scared?" he asked as they reached the front gate. "We can turn around, you know?"

She shook her head and took a step forward. "We won't turn around now," she said and as she found this determination, the fear fell off her like it had been never there in first place. This was when she realised that it had been most likely only a spell, a spell used to keep travellers away from the building. She looked around and stopped for a moment. "It does not rain," she stated.

"And this matters why?" he asked as he tilted his head.

"Like I said – so many water mages and not even one is upset enough to let it rain?" she asked back. "And there were most likely two spells to keep us away – one confusion spell the second we entered this forest and one that made us feel fear and was supposed to make us turn around. The first one explains why you did not see the castle and the second one was supposed to keep us away from this castle. So it's probably quite save to assume that something is really wrong around here." She looked at him. "Can you crash any other spells that might be here?" she asked.

"Only the ones you already mentioned," he shrugged. "I am sorry but I need to know what I crash before I can go through with it. Can't you put up some kind of barrier?"

"Good suggestion," she said as she took out her cards. "Let's see what I got here … _Strength, Tower, Eight of Coins, Three of Staves – Great Mental Barrier_!"

_"Crash,"_ he ordered strictly and for a second, the world turned faster around them before it came to a halt again. "Are you fine, Conny?"

"Yes," she said as the four cards swirled around them. "Within the cards, we should be safe from any magical influence. I am sorry that I didn't think of it earlier … some kind of S-class mage I am … I do not even consider the most obvious risks … I have been out of business for too long…"

"Don't worry," he said with a smile. "You will be capable of fighting properly again in a few months. It's only natural that two years without an important and dangerous job let you become a little bit rusty, Cornelia, but if you train again, you will be just as strong as you used to be soon."


	6. 5th chapter

**5****th**** chapter**

* * *

Makarov was investigating a cave where – according to the villagers of the nearby village – mages practiced magical rituals when he heard faint footsteps behind him. He exhaled before he turned around, facing the only one who had the ability to sneak up on him. "It has been a long time, Tempest-san," he said, wondering what the second-in-command of Zephyr Heart was doing here and why she had not announced her presence before.

"Indeed," she replied, approaching him quickly. "Can I assume that you lost faith in the innocence of a certain someone since you are here, investigating this cave?"

"You love to be right, don't you?" he asked, crossing his arms. "But … what have you been up to?"

She scrunched her face. "I was under the tender care of our healer for a few weeks," she said. "I failed a job … the Hundred-Year-Mission … seems like it just got impossible to complete it."

"You still like to play and to speak in riddles, I see," the man said, sighing lightly. "And here I hoped that the prettiest second-in-command that ever would be a little bit friendly by now."

"I happen to know where they are really hiding – and that's sure as hell not here," she replied, ignoring his comment. "I can lead you there … but you will not like the result of this, Dreyar."

"Why did you even investigate them? Usually, you are not supposed to involve yourself with other guilds' problems, Tempest-san," he stated.

She snorted. "Your son is using my brother's parents' mansion for whatever he is doing," she said sharply but then again, this was the way she mostly spoke because her character was harsh and unforgiving. "Seeing that you are looking for proof, I came to tell you that you will find what you are looking for there. This is all everything I have to say."

* * *

"…are you sure that she will be alright on her own?" Gildarts asked as they had left Serena Alen to herself. "She looked … pretty upset when we told her what we saw."

Cornelia lowered her head. "She's a guild master and a former S-class mage," she said. "I think that she has seen enough pain in her life to deal with this as well. And she won't be alone once night falls. I have known her for too long to believe that Master Philippe will leave her alone."

He wrapped his coat around her as air begun to fall. "Are you worried?" he asked.

"Not for the guild and not for myself," she replied tiredly. "And I should not worry for my guild master either because … no one but Master Philippe will be capable of fixing her and he will heal her … because this is just how he is. He would never abandon her … he was always there for her after all and why should he stray away from her now?"

The truth was that she was not sure. Since she had known the both masters, she had always considered them as a union, a unit that did not function without the other one. She knew that both Philippe Tempest and Serena Alen had had a strange start into their career as mages as children out of a good and wealthy family. They had been friends as little children when Serena had been recovering from the loss of her older sister who had been killed in cold blood and when Philippe had been desperately looking for someone he could dedicate himself to.

But what would happen now? Serena had been empty when they had left her to get back to the house. Cornelia trusted her master who was like an older sister and a dear friend to her but this time, she did not trust the blonde's ability to get back up no matter what happened because in her eyes, there had to be a limit for the times a person could recover from traumatic experiences without suffering any consequences.

"He loves her too much to abandon her now," Gildarts said as the burden of knowing what had happened to Serena Alen in the original timeline was heavy on his shoulders. She had survived, of course, because she had always survived everything but she had grown harder and very lonely along the years, pushing everyone away – including Master Philippe.

"Love isn't the answer to every question," Cornelia said calmly as they walked down the street to her village, to her house with the children in tow. Cana and Juvia were asleep in Cornelia's arms while Laxus sat on Gildarts' shoulders, too tired to follow their conversation.

"But it is an answer when it comes to emotional trauma," Gildarts said as he shrugged.

"I-I certainly hope so," the Card Mage said. "It should be helpful when it comes to dealing with emotional trauma … poor Serena. She is probably reliving the day when her sister was found."

"Cornelia-san?" Laxus asked tiredly. "When I'm a grownup like you and Gildarts … will Cana-chan and I go on cool jobs too … just like you two?"

Gildarts' grin dropped for a moment. "What about Juvia?" he asked. "Isn't she nice too?"

"She's cool but Serena-san said that she's a water mage and water and lighting don't mix," the boy said sagely as he clapped his hands. "And Cana-chan likes cards and Serena-san said that she will be able to use many, many different spells…"

"Gildarts," Cornelia said warningly as her husband opened his mouth to protest before she smiled at the young mage. "You are sure a nice little boy," she said kindly. "And it's true – the most successful teams consist of either a caster and a holder mage or two mages of magical types that work well together … so never water and lightening."

"I understand," he said cheerfully. "Say, why is it suddenly so silent?"

Cornelia turned around, dread written all over her face as she stared back to the building of her guild and with a little bit of fantasy, she could see the coat of Zephyr Heart's guild master. "Well, he is there now," she muttered calmly. "Let's just hope that he won't lose his life."

* * *

"Remove the bracelet, Serena," he said as he closed the door. For those who had met Philippe Tempest before, the kind man with the warm eyes, this version of the guild master was surely a shock because cold steel had replaced the warm emerald of his eyes. "Remove it and follow me."

The blond woman turned around as she sat up. "I can't," she said. "I won't break the law, Phil."

"We are the only masters who choose to limit their power … Makarov didn't seal himself," he replied as he grabbed her wrist and ripped off the thin silver bracelet with the red gem. "I want you to fight me all out, seriously for a change. And if you don't take me seriously, you will be hurt and you know how much I hate to see you hurt."

"And yet you are the only one who has ever been able to leave a scratch on my skin."

He shrugged. "Take it or leave it," he said as he dropped the bracelet on her desk. "What happened to the proudest of all guild masters, Serena? You cannot be broken this easily. I don't allow it."

"You just don't want me to break because you still think that you are the only one who is allowed to break me," she said as she took off her beautiful coat with the insignia of her guild and bound her hair to a tight ponytail afterwards. "But here I am. I am done running away now."

He grabbed her hand as he led her out of the guild building. They had been friends for the longest time of their lives and yet they had hardly fought – because both of them would take the fight too serious and would end up destroying everything in sight. They reached the field where they would battle and for a moment, he considered to forfeit before he realised that she needed this fight and that he would not be able to piece her back together without destroying her first.

It was like when they had been children and her sister had just died. It was the same silence radiating from her, the same inner loneliness. In his mind, he still saw the swing on top of the hill where she had been sitting, staring into the sunlight and waiting for someone who would never return. And he knew what would happen once she'd let go of everything. The dark clouds had already appeared over their heads and the rainstorm would break lose soon.

"Are you ready?" she asked as she moved into her offensive stance. "And I won't let you cast any spells that will improve your defence and speed now."

He dodged her first attack, a simple water slicer with sheer speed and luck before his own stance became an offensive one. To fight her strictly defensive was a dumb form of suicide because it was easy for her to break through any defence known. "Just a water slicer?" he asked, slightly hurt and feeling very insulted. "Honey, I am sorry to break it to you but that one never worked on me. You might want to get out the bigger guns."

"S-shut up!" she yelled as she inhaled. "You will regret saying this! But since you asked for it … _Water God's Second Requiem – Lost Pearl._"

The impact of the spell was nothing he had imagined. For her to resort to Water God Slayer's magic was already rare enough and even when she used it, she never used more than the First Requiem – Black Jade. That she had skipped all her usual attacks based on water magic was a sign that she was close to breaking apart. The black water surrounded him and for a lesser mage, this would have been the end but he was guild master level, an extremely strong mage.

_"Air God's Shield,"_ he replied calmly as the black air surrounded him and protected him from her attack. "You are pretty mad since you use this spell…"

"Maybe I'm just annoyed by the way you fight me," she replied as she moved back into her regular fighting stance. "If you expect me to break out the hardest spells, forget it. I have not worshipped this friendship to kill you off like this. Do not underestimate me, Phil. If anything, I will defeat you fair and square but I refuse to harm you."

He smiled at the ground. "You don't breathe correctly, Serena," he said as he charged at her, fists clenched and magical power surrounding him. "You never breathe the right way…"

"I do not have to breathe," she said. "I am a water mage. I cannot be suffocated."

"You may not need air but you need people," he said in disagreement. "Talk to me, Serena."

She sighed as she dodged his attack. "If I smile now and tell you that I'm alright, will you believe me?" she asked with a wary smile.

"No," he said. "You are not alright. I know you too well to believe this."

"I will wake up one day and the nightmare will be over … so why are you bothering?"

He sighed deeply. "Because I've known you for too long to believe this," he said. "You are not sleeping now so why would you wake him?"

"You are trying to fix someone who has not been broken," she snapped, too aggressive for him to believe a single word she said. "Phil, please, let this go for once."

"I promised you that I would keep you sane when you feared that your power would destroy your sanity," he said, calmly wondering how to attack her next. "And you should know by now that I like to keep my promises, Serena Alen."

The both God Slayers clashed again, in midair this time where Philippe had a slight advantage over the woman due to his element. But Serena had not been made master of a guild for no reason. She twisted her own body in midair, somehow managing to kick him away, and as she landed on her feet, he fell into the sea. By now, she was lost. She had no longer any kind of control over her own power and mercilessly followed him into the realm where she had the advantage. Underwater, she was nearly impossible to beat and the anger and desperation she felt made her even stronger.

_"Serena…" _Philippe uttered soundless, wondering when he had seen her like this the last time. But even though this was water and thus her domain, he still managed to cast the only spell that could stop her even here and now. _"Air God's Third Sonnet: Book's End."_

The spell sent her backwards before invisible chains bound her and finally, underwater where no one would ever see it, a first tear fell from her eyes, disappearing instantly. Philippe released her and wrapped his arm around her as she hugged him tightly and trembled.

And there was the moment, the moment when she finally let go. Deep in the sea, far away from everything else, Serena could let go of everything. This was the only place where she felt save at all, the place where only Philippe could reach her.

He coughed as they reached the surface, still hugging her.

"I am sorry," she said as she rested her head on his shoulder. "I forgot about what it meant to be home when I was fighting … I forgot who I was battling."

"You have lived without a fight like this for a very long time after all, yes," he replied as he swam back to the shore as the rain slowly stopped. "But if anything, I will heal you, Serena. I made this promise and I am going to keep it, too."

"Shut up, Phil," a sharp voice said as his sister stepped out of the shadows, holding the both bracelets. "I found those … that's when I realised what you idiots did this time."

"Calm down," Serena said as she wrapped the bracelet around her wrist once more. "It's not like you never went a little bit too far, right? I can remember the time you were trialled for this…"

"That was when I learned the lesson you have not understood yet," she snapped, turning away and staring at the moon. "I expected more of you, brother dear. I believe that you were rumoured to be able to defeat any opponent in less than three minutes."

"Serena is not any opponent – she is the only one who has an equally great power, sister," he said, gently patting her shoulder. "But I was not aware that you stayed in the area. You told me that you would stay away for a few months because the guild started to get on your nerves."

Serena watched how the black-haired woman turned away, light steps and straight back. There was no reason for her or anyone else to doubt her abilities because she would be there when the guild needed her, fighting on the behalf of her nakama.

They were on their way back to the guilds as a few rogues stepped into their way. Under usual circumstances, Serena would have taken them out in a single blow but she stopped when the other woman raised her hand. "Not tonight, Serena," she said warningly as she pushed back her coat and grabbed her katana. "This is not your fight, understood?"

Sometimes, the blonde hated the stoic mage because no matter what by the time she, the guild master was staggering and hardly able to stand, the nameless woman was still moving gracefully. She watched how Phil's sister charged forward, knocking out everyone in her reach. This was the difference. The other woman was a refined blade, sharp and impossible to break and compared to her, Serena was merely thin paper.

"This is enough," Phil said slowly and his sister lowered her unsheathed weapon. "Good job, though. We have to return now. Don't bother chasing them anymore."

He was sometimes truly scared of his sister because her strength was not healthy and the closer she got to him, the louder screamed his instincts that he would back up, that he should run away. She was a fair fighter, as much was a given, but she was only as fair as her opponents so that if she considered it necessary, she was not above backstabbing and blackmailing.

For a moment, the face of the black-haired woman was hidden in the shadows and no one could see what it looked like. Then, she took a wobbly step forward before she collapsed and would have fallen to the ground if it had not been for her brother's fast reaction. "Shit," he whispered.

Serena moved like the water she used for her magic and ripped the sword from the woman's side before she dropped it, hands stained in blood. "Two things," she said. "Your sister has completely run out of magic … and it seems like her weapon did not like the way she pushed herself … and burned away the skin from her hands. That's bad, Phil, that's seriously bad."

* * *

_"…you are the fastest among us, the strongest and by far the most agile," the blond woman said, twisting her braid into a tight bun. "You are rumoured to be capable of protecting everyone but yourself because you have a preference for techniques that require sacrifice…"_

_"True," the black-haired woman replied emotionless. "But … how does this concern you?"_

_"Maybe … I am just wondering when you finally take this seriously, little one. This is no longer a game for us to take part in whenever we please – this became a serious problem for everyone."_

_"I do know this," the pale woman stated. "And I will protect what I have to protect."_

_"This means that you will protect your brother and your nakama with all your might and that you will allow yourself and everyone else to die," the blonde snapped. "Aren't you a cold-hearted girl, little one? Never caring whether other people will be hurt because of you…"_

_"How long have been friends now?" the black-haired woman asked. "Ah well, let me reply this one: twelve years without that you ever saw me using any kind of magic even though you recognised my power when we first met … unlike you, I am always in control."_

_"You simply know that you are too fast – any magical attack would hit your opponents seconds after you hit them in a direct attack," the blonde said as she ruffled her friend's hair. "Take care, little one, okay? I will be out for a few weeks … but I will be back soon."_

_"I really wished that you would call me this no longer, Nessa," the other woman sighed._

_"I might reconsider this nickname when you get yourself a proper name," the blonde said as she left._

* * *

Serena sighed as she wiped away the sweat from the Zephyr Heart's mage's forehead. "She is still not conscious yet," she said as she turned to face Phil. "This time, she really went too far, Phil."

"She has never used a single drop of magic for as long as I have known her," the black-haired man said as he looked at the pale woman on the bed. "Whatever happened to make her explode like this is certainly something we should not underestimate. We should be careful now."

"When she has fallen, we might be targeted again, I agree," the woman said as her fists clenched in her lap. "Your sister was a dear friend of mine and so I will view this attack on her like an attack against my own flesh and blood. From now on, we are in war."

* * *

_The black-haired woman pushed open the door and entered quickly. "Oi, Nessa – are you home?" she called out as she flipped back her hair before she froze on the stairs that led up to the chambers of the family lay her friend, the blue dress blood-stained and motionless._

_"N-Nessa?" the woman asked as she approached her friend. "Oi, what … what happened to you?"_

_"I am sorry, little one," the blonde apologised. "I won't be there when you find your real name. I wanted to stick around a little bit longer but … I won't be able to. See you in the next life…"_

* * *

"She has suffered for long enough, Master Philippe," Cornelia said as she visited. "Maybe … a magical sleep would be helpful and she might regain her emotional strength which she had lost the very second when Nerissa-san has died from that attack."

"You are suggesting that we put her into an artificial slumber until she has the power to face what is left from her old life, Cornelia-san?" Philippe asked as he turned to face her.

"Yes," she said. "A memory can warm us in lonely and cold nights but it can also tear us apart. The worst part of keeping a memory dear and vivid is not the even the pain it brings sometimes when you wonder why it had to happen this way. It is the loneliness you feel when you cannot share it … memories are meant to be shared and she never talked about her journeys."

"What do you suggested me to do when she wakes up?" the guild master asked, feeling tired and weary after so many days of sitting at his sister's bedside.

"Let her go and let her face her demons … let her continue her journey after her one true name … because she needs this name more than you can imagine. She needs something of her own."

"Nerissa-san used to call her _little one_ … it seemed to be some joke between the both of them."

"She hated it, never wanted to hear it … but I think that she secretly liked it somehow…"

"I wonder what kind of name she will have in the end," he mused. "At the moment, it could be any name … maybe one of those I spoke before, one that rolled off my tongue without a second thought … when she will have this name, I will feel something for this name … there will be a meaning connected to it. A formerly unimportant name will be the most important to be, then. It's a strangely scary and yet happy thought. I won't use this name in any conversation, only when I speak to people who are worthy of knowing the name she finally chose after so many years." He smiled as he looked at his sister. "Just wait for it, sister. You will have a name to fit you … a name that you can be proud of."

"I hope so as well … that one day, we can speak of her as of one of the greatest mages of our time – which she is, without a doubt. Her magical ability which was not witnessed so far has to be amazing because she beat the S-class exam of our guilds after than anyone before."

"I have my suspicions about her magical ability," Gildarts said, turning around from his place by the window. "She is very fast – rumoured to be able to cross the country in the time it takes a cup of tea to fall from the table. This made me think that she's a user of Heavenly Legs – or God Legs. But then again, she has this unspoken drift for Air Magic … I mean … your parents were maybe the most skilled users of air magic in the country until their untimely death, Master Philippe, so it would be a surprise if your sister would not taken after them at all."


	7. 6th Chapter

**6****th**** Chapter**

* * *

A few years later, right after Juvia's sixth birthday, Zephyr Hearts' second-in-command awoke from her coma, claiming to feel better than ever before and acting as if nothing had ever happened to her. Just like Cornelia had predicted, she instantly returned to her tight schedule of jobs and journeys and she was not heard off for many months until a short letter reached her brother. But this was normal for her and therefore, no one considered it noteworthy or even strange.

But it was also the time when Cana and Juvia finally reached an important conclusion for their lives, a conclusion that would change many things for the following years.

"Cana-nee… Juvia wants to join Fairy Tail too," blue-haired Water Mage said. "You and Laxus-kun are members as well and dad said that it will be fun for me to be there too."

"I think so as well, Ju-nee-chan," Cana said, grabbing her adopted sister's hand. "We will be happy … and we will be strong mages – just like our parents and Laxus-kun. We will make them all proud of us – I promise, Ju-nee-chan."

"Do you think that Auntie Nameless will come back soon?" the younger girl asked, holding onto her sister's hand as they ran over the meadow. "She has been so unhappy, even before she was injured … Juvia _really_ wants her to be happy now…"

"She will happier one day," Cana said, smiling cheerfully. "She will find an amazing name for herself and then, she will come home and everyone will be able to say something like … Welcome home, Aunty Thunderstorm – only that we will have a real name for her then."

"You are right, Cana-nee," the girl with the untamed blue hair said as she waved at their mother who was approaching them rather quickly.

If anything, Cornelia had grown more and more beautiful along the years. Even when she had first captured Gildarts' attention to become his wife later on and the mother of his children, she had been only a bud. By now, she was a rose in full bloom, mixing the beauty of a young woman with the confidence and experience of an older one. According to Gildarts, she was the most beautiful being to ever trade Fiore's ground – even though Laxus had tried to argue that he was biased and that Cana and Juvia 'were really, really pretty too!' which had amused Makarov.

"Cana and Juvia!" the older Card Mage called out as she reached her daughters. "We got a train to catch. Cana, I know that you enjoyed your vacation but I believe that you said that there's a job waiting for you when you get back to Fairy Tail…"

"Ju-nee-chan will join Fairy Tail too," Cana said as she beamed at her mother. "So she will stay with me and we can go on jobs together – this will be generally awesome and funny all the time. She can have my bed and I will sleep on the couch … this will be great."

"I think that we can afford a second bed for Juvia," Cornelia grinned as she patted her second daughter's hair. "Ah well, it will be silent at home without a second person around … I guess that I might just move back into the dorm of my guild."

The moment Cana had gotten the black stamp on her stomach, her mother had known that both her daughters would join Fairy Tail because Juvia adored her sister and Laxus likewise and it had been unrealistic that she would join a guild without Cana. Therefore, she was not upset at all because she had had two long years to get used to the thought.

"When we've brought them to Magnolia, Conny, how about a joined S-class job in the North?" Gildarts asked as he wrapped one arm around his wife. He had tried very hard to be there to witness the childhood of his children and even though he had known Juvia as socially awkward adult, he had been amazed by how wonderful she was. There was a huge difference between the Gray-Fullbuster-obsessed woman who used Water Slicer like there was no tomorrow and the little girl who cried out of compassion with her sister who had cut herself, trying to cook.

"That demon-thing?" she asked. "Are you sure that we will be enough for that one?"

_No_, he thought. _This one took a potential wizard saint's greatest sacrifice to be defeated and I cannot imagine that our powers would be enough. But with two very special mages…_

"I asked Master Serena and Master Philippe both to join us, knowing that this demon would be too much for us otherwise," he said, remembering Makarov's words, more than twenty years into the future.

_"Serena and Philippe were … miracles. The only time they fought seriously was when the Balam Alliance targeted their guilds. Just the two of them were enough to smash Tartaros into tiny little pieces, it was … amazing. They are at their strongest when they combine their power for a shared goal and at their weakest when they are fighting each other."_

"This might be enough," Cornelia agreed, taking her children's hands. "Let's go now, guys."

* * *

Mirajane Strauss, nine years old and downright evil, chuckled darkly. "Looks like your girlfriend is a little bit late today, Laxus-_kun_," she said in a ridiculous baby voice. "Are you already missing her or are you too much of a 'man' to admit that you want to have your dorm mate back?"

"Shut up, Mira," the blond boy snapped at her. "I am just kinda worried 'cause she was gone for three weeks now and because she said that she'd be back on time."

"Behave yourself, Laxus," his grandfather said. "But you can go to the train station if you want to and wait for them to arrive there. Gildarts said that he would report back as well before he leaves for another job … the man has been working himself to the bone lately."

"That was all because Cornelia-san couldn't leave and go on jobs for nearly a year after she fell sick," Macao shrugged. "And since Gildarts is a decent husband, he didn't let her down."

"Cornelia-san was friends with my mother," Mirajane threw in, her fists clenched at her sides. She and her siblings had joined the guild one year before after their mother had been killed on an S-ranked job. This had turned her into a violent and – according to Laxus and Cana – slightly psychopathic Takeover Mage who would stop at nothing to protect her siblings.

"I am back!" Cana called out as she entered the guildhall. "Sorry for being late but dad said that we have to buy a bed for Ju-nee-chan before we came here."

"So, Juvia-chan, you are joining now as well?" Makarov asked as he looked at the little girl.

"Yes," she said as she nodded. "Juvia wants to be in the same guild as Cana-nee and Laxus-kun."

"Then, you will get your guild stamp and I will welcome you here," the master said. "Um, Cana-chan, why don't you get it and help her with it in back?"

"Sure thing, Master," the brunette said as she led her sister into the room behind the counter.

"You are leaving us again, today, aren't you, Gildarts?" Makarov asked calmly.

"Yeah," the S-class mage said. "There is trouble stirring up in the North. We want to check it out. It's a dangerous job but I asked both Alen and Tempest for support. We will be fine."

* * *

The blond woman snorted, wrapping her scarf around her neck and the lower part of her face. "It is not like Cornelia to be late," she said, crossing her arms. "I believe that this mission was supposed a quick one … I do not like this cold."

"Cheer up, Rena," the man said, patting her head. "We will put an end to Deliora's evil doings and return to our guilds afterwards. I had hoped that my sister would show up but it seems like she is not here … too bad, I would have been happier to know her behind me."

"We are here, Master Philippe," Cornelia said, rubbing her gloveless hands against each other.

"So, we are going demon hunting now, Clive?" the man asked as he looked at Gildarts.

"We are … but we have to be careful. I estimate this demon's power to equal the strength of a wizard saint – will this be a problem?" the Crash Mage inquired.

"Not all," Serena said, smirking at her shoes. "We are supposedly able to match a wizard saints' power and neither you nor Cornelia are to be underestimated either. We should be fine."

Gildarts had calculated this fight seriously before he had decided that the four of them would be enough. While he had never seen Serena Alen in battle, he knew all too well that she had been a match for Master Makarov in her best days. As for Philippe Tempest, he was probably the strongest user of air magic the world had ever seen.

"Very well," Serena said, interrupting his thoughts. "We should hurry up a little bit. I won't be able to use my regular water attacks in those quarters and yet, we should be alright here."

_'What are you planning to do, Serena Alen?'_ Cornelia wondered silently as she followed her master into the battle. _'And why am I here, Gildarts? Compared to you or the masters, my powers hardly matter at all. You know this. You know that I will be hardly able to do anything at all.'_

"Don't worry, Conny, I will make sure that you will realise why you are here," Gildarts said, slipping her hand into his for a moment. "I wouldn't have endangered you for no reason, okay?"

"I know this," she said. "It's just … compared to Master Serena, I will very small and meaningless. Her abilities are nearly unmatched by other users of water magic."

"Sorry to disturb you, lovebirds, but there's a nasty big demon even though he was already engaged into a fight by … a little boy," Master Philippe ended as his voice dropped. "Alright, we ain't got any time to waste. Rena, get the boy out of there – **now**."

"Consider it done," she said, raising her arms. _"Spinning Water Lily!"_

"You are still terrible at naming your moves, Rena," her fellow master commented.

"Why, you barbaric moron," she snapped at him, sending a lethal glare his way.

"I'll take care of the boy," Cornelia said as she made a first step into the direction where the water was dissolving back into thin air again.

"You won't," Philippe said, mentioning towards the demon. "To get rid of this one, we cannot afford wasting a single moment – or that a mage takes care of a mostly uninjured boy."

"You are right…" the Card Mage said, throwing a bunch of her cards into the air where they stayed. "Alright, alright … here we go: _Explosive Shuriken Cards_!"

"Isn't that the spell Cana created a few weeks ago?" Gildarts asked as he crashed Deliora's counterattack. "Up to now, we are dealing with this pretty well. Oi, Master Serena, join the party!"

"Remove the Power Limiter, Rena-chan," Philippe ordered. "This beast isn't the monsters we usually deal with – hell, I really wished that my dearest sister would be here too."

"Is it only me or did the master really loosen up since we got here, Gildarts?" Cornelia asked.

"He did – and this worries me a little bit. He is usually so reserved, always holding back…"

"You mean that we should use the full extend of our magical powers, Phil?" Serena asked as she dropped her bracelet to the ground. "Very well … so here we go … _Water God's Second Requiem – Lost Pearl."_

"You … you are a God Slayer, Master?" Cornelia asked as she watched how the demon was thrown back five hundred metres. "Why did you never tell anyone?"

"Because this kind of magic … is the same kind of magic that was used to slay my sister," the blond woman said. "For a very long time, I wasn't aware of this but now I know the truth. My sister who was killed eight years ago was killed by a very young God Slayer, one that was not aware of his power. My sister was not an easy opponent and I strongly believe that she left some kind of mark on her murderer. Phil's sister was the last one to speak to her before she passed on … and therefore I assume that her killer was a god slayer with the earth element. We … we found sand in her wounds." She twirled around, forming a giant wave. "Because of Nerissa's death, I swore to never use my magic again. Before, I had never bragged with it because I saw no need to. I was a good enough mage to use the original water style to be in need of this **magic**."

"Sorry to interrupt your story telling time, Master Serena, but Deliora needs to be taken care of first," Gildarts said as he gently pushed her out of the way. "Oh – but for now, let's retreat, yes?"

"Now we know the demon's strength – and his weaknesses, so I agree," Philippe agreed, crossing his arms. "There's a house – we shall speak over there. It seems to be stable and not harmed."

"Alright, alright," Serena said as she followed her friend. "So, what are his weaknesses?"

"It's our lucky day – he is weak against air, lightening and water," the other master said. "So if we work together, we should be capable of defeating this lowly creature. Cornelia-san, please prepare a few lightening combinations. I remember an impressing one from your S-class exam."

"Of course…" Gildarts said. "By covering Deliora in water and hitting him with a lightening attack then, we will cause more damage than when we only use one attack at a time."

"That's exactly the point, yes," the black-haired man nodded. "When the both stun him, I can move in for an attack to slash of his arms. I cannot aim for his head because I have no idea what would happen then and I want to play this as save as possible."

"Phil, someone arrived and is now battling Deliora," Serena said as she stepped away from the window. "From the looks of it, it should be the ice mage who lives in this area."

"Ur Milkovich finally made her move … this is interesting," Cornelia said, crossing her arms. "I heard that she stays out of any kind of business that concerns other mages."

"We should move now!" Gildarts said but as he reached the door, Cornelia was already outside. "Oi, Conny – why are you in such a hurry?" he called after her.

"Milkovich-san is about to use an extremely powerful technique – we need to stop that," the Card Mage said. "Master Serena, I need the water … now."

"Here you go – Great Wave!" her guild master called out as she extended her arms.

"Here's to nothing and everything," Cornelia said. "Triple Lightening Bolt!"

The cards swirled through air and right above the demon, they reunited into three triangles before three powerful lightening strikes hit Deliora who stopped his movements.

_"Air God's Air Blade!"_ Master Philippe called out and seconds later, the demon lost his arms.

"This should even our odds," Cornelia said as she ran forwards, jumping over rocks and destroyed houses until she got a better position for her attacks. "I need to go all out from this point on. I will be worthless for the rest of the battle afterwards but … this has to be done. _Great Arcana – Tarot Miracle!_"

Out of all directions, her cards came flying at Deliora, leaving her bag, came out of her hair and clothes to form various attacks.

"This … this is her strongest attack," Serena said as she jogged towards the demon as well. "It uses up all her magical power but it is a combination of all the attacks she has at her disposal … I knew that she was working on this but … I never expected her to learn this so fast."

"A card mage's paradise is also his hell," Philippe said as Cornelia collapsed. "Anyway, let's go."

"Good," Serena said as she covered herself in a layer of water. "If our power is supposed to slay gods, we should be able to take on a demon like him as well – especially when he is disabled."

"Are you coming, Gildarts? This was your idea after all, right?" Zephyr Heart's master asked.

"I am not sure whether I would be of great use there," the Crash Mage admitted. "But if this is your wish, I will battle this demon alongside you."


	8. 7th Chapter

**7th Chapter**

* * *

Gray Fullbuster awoke to the sound of Deliora's last roar. He sat up and looked around, catching sight of a group of mages who stood in a lose circle. Somewhere behind him, someone coughed and he looked over his shoulder to see a young woman with long brown hair that fell over her shoulder. She got up and dusted her warm clothes off before she stumbled through the ruins of the destroyed city, uttering curses under her breath.

"You okay, kid?" she asked as she reached him. "Did that demon hurt you?"

"Talking of being okay, Conny," a tall man with reddish brown hair started, "what about you? You took quite a fall after you used that spell, didn't you?"

"Don't worry about me," she said with a carefree smile. "I am just fine, really. How are you?"

"Well, it was one of my better ides to bring the masters," he admitted before he looked at Gray. "I hope you are fine, boy," he said calmly.

"Y-yes," Gray stuttered as he dusted off his clothes. "B-but … U-Ur? Is-is she okay?"

"Milkovich-san will need treatment but she will recover," a blond woman said as she brushed back a strand of her hair. "Cornelia, I would advise that you transfer her over to our guild. According to the last status, our healer should be in and capable of stabilising her."

"W-who are you guys?" Gray asked as he stared at them with wide eyes.

"We are members of three different guilds. Gildarts is an S-class mage of Fairy Tail, Cornelia and I are members of Mermaid Heel and Philippe over there is the master of Zephyr Heart," the woman explained. "My name is Serena Alen, pleased to meet you."

"We are here because Gildarts heard that a demon was active in this area," the black-haired man who carried an unconscious with one arm and an equally unconscious Ur with another stated drily. "Alright, Cornelia, Serena and I will bring this boy and Milkovich-san back to the guild … because they need medical treatment. You can finish off everything here and deal with the officials. Cornelia, if you'd maybe transfer us…"

The brunette woman bit her lip. "Be happy that my magical power just returned far enough for me to use that spell," she sighed before she sent three cards flying and within a flash of light, the four people vanished.

"Don't overdo things, Conny," the man called Gildarts said as he shook his head. "It's a long way back to Magnolia … I guess you wanted to check on the girls before you leave for the next job?"

She smiled before she knelt down in front of Gray. "Say, boy, what's your name?" she asked.

"G-Gray," he replied. "Gray Fullbuster."

"Milkovich-san is your teacher, right?" she continued, purpleish eyes full of wisdom. "Well, I don't want to scare you but … you will have to do a while without her. I am no expert but to me it looked like she lost a generous amount of blood … her leg was always gone, right? She might be in a coma for the next few months or so. Do you have a place to stay for the timebeing?"

"Ur … in a coma?" he asked, pale with terror. "T-that's my fault … I ran off to challenge Deliora."

"Don't sweat it, brat," Gildarts said as he ruffled the boy's hair. "Here goes the deal: you need a place to stay. I guess that Conny can organise you a place in Zephyr Heart because she's on good terms with the master … or I can organise you a place in Fairy Tail."

"Personally, I would say that you might be better off with Fairy Tail," Cornelia said calmly as she patted his shoulder. "This is the guild where our daughters are … and there are more children in general. Zephyr Heart, at the moment, has only a few kids … _snobbish_ ones."

"What … what about Lyon? Where will he be staying at?" the black-haired boy asked.

"Well, Master Philippe won't throw him out. He will surely offer him a place in his guild. He will be taken care off. Guilds are the better options compared to orphanages," the card mage said softly. "I guess … your parents are dead and Ur-san is your guardian?"

He nodded. "Y-yes…"

"I can assure you that our healers will do their very best to make sure that she will recover fast," she said as she rose. "So, um, we should try to catch the next train. Gildarts, be a sweetheart and carry Gray-kun. He looks like he can hardly walk and he played hero enough for today."

* * *

Cana was sulking and no one knew why. She had been sitting on her bench all day, had glared at everyone who had approached her and even Mirajane who was usually the one who always picked a fight had backed away after encountering the piercing glare and was currently trying to talk Lisanna into outgrowing her rather short hair.

Juvia who knew her sister better than most people with the exception of maybe Laxus sat on a nearby chair and watched the way Cana glared at the wall. She knew what had upset the brunette girl but she would not share this insight as long as Cana firmly denied that something was wrong in the first place. It had upset the young card mage greatly that Laxus had left for a small solo mission earlier and that he was not back yet.

"Juvia-chan."

The young water mage flinched as Lisanna Strauss approached her, visibly happy about having escaped her slightly overbearing sister. The white-haired girl smiled shyly and wipped back and forth on her toes before she continued to speak. "I … I … would you like to play cards with me?"

For a second, deep blue eyes looked at the still sulking brunette for guidance before Juvia sighed dejected. "Sure, Lisanna-chan," she said. "Juvia would love to play cards with you."

Cana crossed her arms and looked back at the door before she closed her eyes for a moment. This was not like her, this was not like her at all. Usually, she would never complain or sulk when Laxus left for a job but this time, he had forgotten to say goodbye before he her left.

"Cana-san?" Elfman Strauss sat down next to her. "I was … I was thinking that you might want to go on this job with me. It's an easy one, just to deliver a bunch of letters to another village. If we would leave now, we might be back this evening."

"Don't you usually work with your sister?" she asked as she frowned. She could stand him a lot more than she could tolerate his older sister but usually, she worked with Laxus and he worked with Mirajane. "I really have no interest in staring a fight with her to be honest."

"She does not feel like working today," he admitted.

"Well, in that case, we can do this together," she said as she got up and grabbed her bag. "Master! Elfman and I are doing that letter job, okay?"

The old man nodded. "Have fun and take care, brats!"

* * *

Laxus Dreyar was smiling to himself as he walked down the street. His solo job had been successful and he had remembered to get some sweets for Cana and Juvia. The trio shared a big flat because Gildarts had not trusted Fairy Hills with his precious children – and because technically, it had been his own flat and because he was hardly there, he had decided to give it up for his children – and Laxus had moved in after spending most of the time over there with Cana instead of going home to his grandfather.

He had nearly reached the guild when he stopped, his facial expression betraying his surprise. Little, innocent, dolllike Juvia was fighting in the mud with Lisanna, original hair colours impossible to recognise. The takeover mage switched from one form to another but it was obvious that this – as it was water-based – was Juvia's game. He smiled a little wider before he crossed the yard. "Oi, Ju, how about stopping now? Cana will throw a fit and I don't want to have to clean the apartment," he said with a laugh. "By the way, where's she?"

"Cana-chan is on a job with Elf-nii," Lisanna said as she wiped the mud from her cheek. "They left about two hours ago. Cana-chan was unhappy because you haven't asked her whether she wanted to come with her," she added with a grin that reminded him of her sister's smirk.

"Well, I bought her a birthday present so she hardly could come with me," he shrugged. "And she really went on a job with Elfman? Well, that means our rent will be paid without any money from Gildarts and Cornelia-san this month. That's quite alright with me."

Juvia laughed as she skipped over to him. She liked Laxus a lot because he always told her awesome stories about the jobs he had completed so far and this was mostly more interesting than her mother's teachings over battle strategy because as scatterbrained as Cornelia frequently was, she was – if she focused properly – an extremely skilled strategician. "Say, Laxus-kun, can you take Juvia to another town so that she can buy a present for Cana-nee as well?" she asked.

"Sure," he said as he ruffled her muddy hair. "But now, get you and Lisanna cleaned up so that we can go home. Since Cana isn't here, you can choose dinner today."

The young water mage turned around just in time to see the handful of mud flying. A few years later, with better magical control, she might have been able to stop the water part in midair but at this point, she could only gasp as it hit Laxus' face.

The lightening mage slowly wiped it away but the rage in his eyes was barely concealed as he turned his head. "Mirajane," he growled. "You are seriously pissing me off right now."

* * *

Magnolia was not the way Gray Fullbuster had expected it. After a full day at the train and countless stories of Gildarts who had protested against an honorific and Cornelia-san who had gratefully accepted it, he had expected that he had a certain idea of the town but to him who had only known the small villages of the North, Magnalio was the biggest thing.

"We are now heading over to the guildhall," Gildarts explained as they walked through a large crowd. "Fairy Tail's a really popular guild so most people worry that they might not get in but usually, if you have a good reason, you can count on being accepted. You will get in because I bring you over and the master owes me big time."

Gray nodded. "Your daughters," he started. "What are they like? I never lived with girls before."

Cornelia had decided (and Gildarts was really happy about this because otherwise, he would have had to come up with complicate plans) that Gray would stay at the apartment that Cana and Juvia currently shared with Laxus. At the beginning, she had been against Cana living on her own at only six but then, Gildarts had pointed out that Laxus would permanently be over anyway and that Cana would eat – like most people – at the guild.

"Juvia-chan is a real sweetheart and is probably running the show," Cornelia said with a fond smile. "She is a little younger than you but in terms of household managing, she is a real pro. She is also a pretty good water mage. Cana-chan is short-tempered and emotional at times. She is a little messier but a pretty good cook. She has your age even though she often acts like she is far older. And your third roommate is Laxus-kun, the guild master's grandson. He and Cana are really good friends. He is a good deal older but he takes care of them."

Gray nodded. "That sounds … nice," he said as he looked around. "Wait – is that the guild?"

"That's the guild, Gray," Gildarts confirmed with a proud smile before a frown appeared on his face. "And it looks like some of your nakama have decided to have a mud battle today," he sighed before he raised his voice. "JUVIA, LAXUS, MIRAJANE AND LISANNA!" he yelled. "I don't care who started but you will stop throwing mud at each other, now!"

"Oi, Gildarts, Juvia and I are winning!" the only boy called back. "Also, Juvia and I were nearly gone when Mira started to throw mud at me. This is merely revenge so stay out of this."

"That's Laxus-kun," Cornelia chuckled as she took a step into the direction of the fighting children and grabbed the taller girl by her arm and pulled her away. "You shouldn't do this, Mirajane-chan," she said calmly, unfazed by the murderous glare. "While mud is good for the skin, it will be a pain to get all of those stains out of your clothes. You should stop fighting now."

The girl who had been fighting alongside Laxus chuckled as she conjured a ray of water and cleaned both her and her partner-in-crime before the water evaporated. "Mom! Dad!" she beamed as she approached the adults. "You have returned already? Cana-nee-chan will be – who's that?" she asked as she interrupted herself. "Juvia has never seen him … and where's his shirt?" she added as an afterthought.

And this was how Juvia Lockser met Gray Fullbuster.

* * *

Cana was happily munching an apple as she strolled down the street that would lead her back home. Elfman had been a decent partner – a little more silent than Laxus – and she had returned sooner than she had expected to. She unlocked the front door and skipped up the the stairs before she froze as she saw Juvia and Laxus sitting on the stairs, obviously in deep thoughts.

"Cana," Laxus said with a short nod as he noticed her. He had dropped the honorific a few years back because their degree of familiarity no longer required the use of a –chan. She had been quite happy because usually, only people who had earned his respect in one way or another had the honour of being addressed by their given names. Her mother who had definitively his greatest respect was an exception because everyone called her Cornelia-san – even Master Makarov.

"What happened, Juvia-nee-chan, Laxus…" the brunette whispered as she sat down with them.

"We got another roommate," Laxus said with a sigh. "From what I understood, Cornelia-san and Gildarts took out that demon called Deliora in the Northern Areas … a woman got hurt during the fight and one of her students joined Fairy Tail today and Gildarts decided that he can have our spare guest room. The upside is that we will have it even easier when it comes to paying the rent without Gildarts' help. Plus, the boy seemed pretty much alright."

"He _stripped_," Juvia said in dismay. "Juvia was just asking who he is when he was suddenly standing there without his shirt. That has to be a nightmare, Juvia thinks."

"Don't sweat it, Ju," Laxus chuckled. "There might be a time when you will appreciate this … _gift_."

She snorted in disgust. "Juvia doesn't think that anyone would ever appreciate a boy who strips all of a sudden," she declared. "Well, mom cooked dinner so we can go and eat dinner so that you meet him as well, Cana-nee," she added. "Maybe you can make him stop losing his clothes all the time … your shuriken cards should be able to keep his clothes in place, right?"

"Ju, we do not do pointless violence," Laxus scolded gently as he got up. "Anyway, we should get some food now … tomorrow, we will leave for that mission after all and we cannot afford to have a water mage who can barely walk because she didn't eat enough."

"Laxus-kun, will we continue training for the S-class exams soon?" Juvia asked as they headed for the door. "Juvia … I want to help Laxus-kun to prepare for the exam – and Cana-nee want the same. We know that you can do this, Laxus-kun!"

He smiled as he ruffled her hair. "Thanks for that vote of confidence, Ju," he said. "But it seems like Cana doesn't share your faith. What's the matter, Cana?"

She rolled her eyes. "I saw the end of the path," she said. "There is no reason to have faith if you know for a fact that you will pass in your first attempt."


End file.
